Petition of the day

Alford v. Texas

Docket: 11-1318Issue(s): Whether the “routine booking” exception to Miranda v. Arizona applies: (1) unless the officer objectively should have known that his question was likely to elicit an incriminating response, as some courts have held; (2) unless the officer’s intent was to elicit an incriminating response, as other courts have held; or (3) to all questions that serve a legitimate administrative function, regardless of whether the officer should have known that the questions would likely elicit an incriminating response, as still other courts, including the court below, have held.

Upcoming Oral Arguments

3/31Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises, Inc. Whether the Court should overrule Brulotte v. Thys Co., which held that “a patentee’s use of a royalty agreement that projects beyond the expiration date of the patent is unlawful per se”.

On Monday afternoon Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer testified before the House Appropriations Committee. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the Court’s budget for the next fiscal year and the federal judiciary, but the legislators also took full advantage of the occasion to touch on other topics as well.